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Beaufort County has 587 square miles of islands, 64 large- and medium-sized islands and some 2,000 smaller ones that were formed over thousands of years. These islands, the product of waves, currents and storms, are in a constant state of slow change.
Fresh waters from inland rivers meet the ocean here to form an estuarine network of tidal creeks and marshes so rich in nourishment that wildlife, birds and fish of incredible variety come here to feed and breed. St. Helena Sound to the north has four channels, but otherwise is a vast, shallow delta of ever-changing sandy shoals. To the south, the water is deep. The Broad River flows into Port Royal Sound, which lies between St. Helena and Parris Island on the Beaufort side and Hilton Head Island on the far side. Port Royal Sound is the second deepest natural port on the Eastern seaboard. It was the arrival of the Union Navy into Port Royal Sound that caused the citizens of Beaufort to flee the city in 1861, after which it became a Union medical center.
Among the areas covered in the term "South of Broad" are Hilton Head, Bluffton, Daufuskie, Callawassie, Okatie and Sun City, which straddles Beaufort and Jasper counties. "North of Broad" includes Beaufort and Port Royal, St. Helena, Lady's Harbor, Fripp, Hunting, Cat, Cane, Distant, Lost, Dataw and Polowana Islands, Sheldon and parts of Yemassee.
Because all roads must wind around the water and marshes to seek out the high ground of islands and hummocks, a loggerhead turtle might swim from St. Helena to Hilton Head in the time it takes a person to drive there. The drive to Hilton Head, about 30 miles away, takes about 45 minutes.
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